Watering trough



Nov. 31 1925. 1,560,088

H. MARQUARDT .wATmmNG THOUGH Fled March 14. 1924 2 sheets-sheet 1 (E8 gnu-zwiwo Henry Marg uardz.

Nov. s, 1925. 1,560,088

H. MARQUARDT WATERING TROUGH Filed Maren 14. 1924 z sheets-sheet a EIgl-L 23 f7 I /z Patented Nov. 3, 1925,

rsaose appueaaon 'mea nach 14, im. serial naissante.

T0 all whom 'it may Conce/'911:

'Be li-t known 4that 'Hanni' Ma-izornxnn'r, a citizen of the 'United States, residing lat Norfolk, Ain thec'ounty of Madison and'St-ate of Nebraska, has invented 'certain new `and useful Improvements in littering Trdughs, of whithithefollowing is a specification. l

This ihw'fen'tion' relates to wateringtrofughs Eand has Special reference. to a watering trou-gh for lpro-viding lho'gs, "cattle, and ll'iorses with water.

The ordinary lope-n type of watering trough for animals isobjectionabie on vari- 'ous' accounts. -Amo'ngtheobjections lies the fact/that in Cold weather the "water contained in lthe tiougl-i 'free-fies, and at times the contents of the trough 'are exposed fto containination through rfalling olf leaves into 4the trough, the dirt Afalli-ng from the animals mouth while drinking out of lth'e itro-ugh and other dirt which i'sdiffi'cult t'oi'clean out accuiiiullitinlg therein.

Another Lobj ection "that exists, is that when "the ordinary tron-gh isset-in the. feed lot lor pasture, wholly or partly exposed, the ahimals step iiitoit and rub on or against it causing the same to break.

One important object -of the present invention is to improve the general construction of devices of this character.

A second important object of the invention is to provide an improved form of trough which may be placed with its mouth or delivery end accessible through the line fence of the pasture or the like in a. position which prevents animals from rubbing 0n or stepping into it.

A third important object of the invention is to provide an improved trou-gh of this description which may be covered, during cold weather by barnyard litter so that the water in the trough will not freeze, the construction being such as to prevent contamination of the water as much as possible by the covering material and facilitate cleaning.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved swinging closure for a trough of this character.

lith the above and other objects in view as will be hereinafter apparent, the invention consists in general of certain `novel details of construe-tion and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated 1n the accompanying drawings and specilically claimed.

Figure v`6 is la pla-'n view olf a third niodification having -four mouths fnl are embodiment ori-.11e invention terein 'shown v"the trough has been indicated as being constructed dfsheet Ineta'l and, while this tmaterial i's preferable, 'other'ir'iafterials may Ibe used for the purpose and it is to be'iintleistood that the vinvention is 'not confiir'edt'o Ithe use "olfy any "particular material of csitifction. ln the construction the trough is provided with a bot-tom 10 'and sidewalls 11 which at thefoii'vard end exteria apmrdly at 12 'aan at the-leal and extend upwardly to a less extent as at 13. Between the rear end of the side walls extends the rear wall 14 and similarly at the front end there is provided a front wall 15 which extends outwardly around the trough body portion to provide flanges 16 which are adapted to rest against the boards, rails or the like, of a line fence 17. This front wall 15 is provided with an access opening 18 and just back of the front wall the side walls are provided with notches 19 to receive the ends of a rod 20 carrying a closure flap or door 21, preferably made of.

sheet metal. On the back of this door there is vertically disposed a resilient strip 22 which is bowed rearwardly at its center and` on this rearwardly bowed portion is fixed a weight 23. The notches 19 are so positioned that normally the weight 23 causes the door or flap to close the opening 18 as shown in full lines in Figure 3. And it will be observed that animals desiring to drink can readily push the bottom of the fla-p open as shown in dotted lines in that figure, and, when the flap is released it will fall to closed position, the shock due to the weight 23 being cushioned by means of the resilient strip 22.

At the rear end of. the tank there is provided a supply pipe 241 controlled by valve 25 which is in turn controlled by a float 26 within the tank so that when the water level rises to a certain point, as shown in Figure 3, the valve 25 will be closed, but when the water level drops, the valve 25 will open and the water level be restored. v

In order to cover the trough there is provided a sheet metal cover 27 and this cover may be made in one or more sections as desired for the particular size of trough. Furthermore, it will be seen that with a trough constructed in accordance with this invention, barnyard litter may be packed around the trough as indicated at 28 so that in cold weather the fermentation of such litter will keep the water froml freezing.

It will be seen from Figures 4, 5 and 6 that this device may be applied, not only to a line fence but, also to afield where two, three or four mouths may be used and it will be noted that in each instance the employment of these modified forms does not change the general principle involved. It will be seen that in each of the modifications the ball chamber or rear end simply has a pluralityT of troughs l1 radiating therefrom and at the end of each of these troughs there is a delivery opening' equipped with the automatic closing door. In other words there is a central control chamber, troughs radiating therefrom and enlarged delivery chambers at the end of said troughs. The purpose of the rear-end or control chamber extending upwardly is togive sufficient space for the fioat 26 and for'placing the valve 25 higher than water level, preventing any trash from interfering with its proper functioning.

Another advantage of this construction is that the cover 27 is separate from the main body of the trough to allow access to the valve 25 and closure flap or door 21 for ade justing.

There has thus been provided a simple and eiiicient device of the kind described and for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, whatis claimed as new, is:

A watering trough consisting of an elongated body having water admission means at-one end and an access opening at the rother end, said access opening being vertically arranged, a flap closure hinged at its upper edge over said opening and covering the opening within said body, a resilient strip having its ends secured respectively to the upper and lower portions of said closure and having its central portion bowed rearwardly therefrom, and a closing weight secured to the central portion of said strip.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my s gnature.

HENRY MARQUARDT. 

